The MLB Playoffs are in full swing, something this SJC team member believes to be the best time of the year. Whether you like baseball or not, you can’t deny the staple baseball has been in American culture for well over 100 years. Marketing is similar to baseball in this regard, being a staple of successful businesses for many years.
Marketing and playoff baseball have a lot in common. They are both energizing and great at bringing people together. The average person may not think about either most days, but remove one of them from our culture and everyone is bound to notice. The one thing marketing and playoff baseball have the most in common, though, is what they result in: BUZZ. That’s right, buzz – not the action figure from Toy Story, but “an atmosphere of excitement and activity,” as defined by Oxford Languages.
Regular season baseball may not be the most exciting thing in the world (this baseball-loving fan can admit that), but no one can deny the buzz when October and the Fall Classic roll around. From Babe Ruth to the blown call in game 6 of the 1985 I-70 World Series, to the hometown kid David Freese sending the St. Louis Cardinals to game 7 and an eventual World Series win, playoff baseball creates a buzz that will get non-fans excited for October.
If your marketing efforts aren’t creating a bit of excitement around your company, products or service, you are missing the mark. Effective marketing results in a buzz about whatever it is you are promoting. That’s the point of marketing, right? To get people excited about your business and what you have to offer? From your website to social media to video and everything in between, your marketing should get your audience buzzing about your business.
Creating a buzz is just one thing playoff baseball and marketing have in common. Here are three more ways the two are related:
- Both require a full team effort to achieve success. Just ask the Angels, who many say have the best player in baseball – four-time MVP Mike Trout – yet they’ve made the playoffs just once in his career. Similarly, your business may have the best website the internet has ever seen. But, if you aren’t utilizing tools such as social media and digital ads to drive people to your amazing website, it won’t perform as well.
- Everyone has a role. Just as you wouldn’t send your slugging first baseman out to finish game 7 on the mound, you’re not going to use newspaper ads to drive younger generations to your website. Every position on the baseball field serves a particular purpose, just as your marketing tactics each serve a particular purpose. A good manager isn’t going to put his players in positions they don’t play, so why do the same to your marketing tactics?
- There will always be haters. The game of baseball and the MLB have taken some heat in recent years for being slow to change. Baseball in America is rooted in tradition and the MLB isn’t willing to make changes on a whim. Marketers should follow the MLB’s lead when it comes to haters making some noise. If your marketing is creating a buzz (you thought we were done with buzz didn’t you), you’re bound to have a few people who don’t like you or agree with you. Don’t let a few haters in a stadium full of happy fans cloud your judgment.
Baseball is an art, and so is successful marketing. When done correctly, both create an undeniable buzz that moves people. If you’re ready to create a buzz with your marketing, reach out to us today – we’re ready to help you.